by Murat Karul

In a noteworthy NHL game on Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Kings secured their first victory of the season by defeating the Winnipeg Jets with a score of 5-1. Goaltender Cam Talbot played a pivotal role, making 26 saves to lead the Kings to this win.

Trevor Moore was a standout performer for the Kings, contributing significantly with two goals and an assist. Phillip Danault also played a crucial role, netting a goal and providing two assists, while Arthur Kaliyev notched a goal and an assist. Additionally, Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was part of a trade to the Kings in June, marked his return to Winnipeg by scoring.

The Kings had a challenging start to the season, losing their first two games, 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche and 6-5 to the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout.

Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele managed to end Cam Talbot’s shutout bid with just 1 minute and 16 seconds left in the game, but the Jets’ effort fell short. Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets’ goaltender, stopped 24 shots.

The game saw an unfortunate injury when Gabriel Vilardi of the Kings had to leave in the first period due to a knee injury. This injury occurred after he was tripped by Kings forward Blake Lizotte. Vilardi was able to skate off the ice with some weight on his injured knee.

Tempers flared in the late stages of the game when Kings defenseman Andreas Englund hit Jets forward Cole Perfetti into the boards. Dylan Samberg came to Perfetti’s defense, resulting in a fight between Samberg and Englund. Samberg received fighting majors, an instigating penalty, and a 10-minute misconduct.

The game was attended by a crowd of 11,226 fans at Canada Life Centre, which is believed to be the lowest attendance since the Jets relocated to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011, excluding instances with reduced capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. The arena’s full capacity is 15,324.

In their next games, the Kings will be facing the Minnesota Wild, while the Jets will be hosting the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.